July 2021 Rerun

Developing Soft Skills and Personality

Week 2/Assignment 2

MCQ:
1. In Bertrand Russell’s example of two men, Mr. A and Mr. B, being in conflict with
each other, what does the arbitrator tell each of the men, to have the conflict
peacefully resolved?
a. The other person is intellectually challenged, so you will have to forgive him.
b. The other person has been possessed by an evil spirit it was not his own fault.
c. The other person has only the normal share of human wickedness, and this
enmity is harmful to both.
d. The other person has a better political clout and so he will take revenge on you and
your family.
e. The other person is planning to write his will to your son/daughter if you make peace
with them.
f. The other person is actually a cyborg, and if you make peace with him, you can make
him do whatever you want.

Explanation: This is a win-win approach to conflict-resolution, which is based on

understanding and acknowledging each other’s shortcomings.

2. Imagine the following situation: you are unhappy with your job and wish to make a
career switch, but you are unsure about whether you have enough savings to pay your
rent and bills for the months that you will be out of the job. Meanwhile, your parents
who live far away from the city where you work, are ailing, and require someone to
be around and look after them at home. It might be natural to expect that you are
experiencing:
a. Thrill
b. Overjoy
c. Passion
d. Stress
e. Exhaustion
f. Multitasking

Explanation: Stress is natural response of mind and body to conflicting and difficult
situations. Some amount of stress is not only considered inevitable but also beneficial
towards problem-solving and decision-making.
 3. Which of the following is sure to happen when you are distressed?
a. You get promoted at work.
b. You are motivated to work more efficiently.
c. You become more disciplined.
d. You become more forgiving.
e. You start thinking clearly.
f. You take more time than usual to do a task.

Explanation: Being distressed entails being consumed by one’s personal or professional

problems. This kind of stress impales clear thinking, decision making, and judgement. You
may also lose your focus and concentration, whereby one may take longer than usual to do a
task.

4. If a person is unassertive, cooperative, and values building relationships over taking a

clear stance on things, which among the following descriptions best fits his/her
personality type?
a. Avoiding
b. Accommodating
c. Attacking
d. Collaborating
e. Competing
f. Compromising

Explanation: Someone who is attacking will always want to prove himself/herself correct,
while someone who is accommodating will aim towards safeguarding a valuable relationship
as opposed to having the final word.

5. Which one of the following is a sign that you are undergoing an intrapersonal
conflict?
a. You disagree with your wife about how your financial resources should be utilized.
b. Your team, at your office, experiences a clash with another team at office, over a few
issues.
c. You debate with yourself about whether it is worthwhile to quit your current job
and do something different.
d. You and a few others in your office team disagree with your team-leader, and want to
revolt.
e. You and your best friend develop disagreements over a few issues.
f. Your family engage in a feud with a neighboring family.
Explanation: An intrapersonal conflict is one in which you have a conflict within yourself
between two or more opposing stances. A debate with yourself falls in this category, as
opposed a debate with a friend or adversary, which is the case of interpersonal conflict.

6. A conflict between a father and a son is an example of?

a. Interpersonal conflict
b. Intercontinental conflict
c. Intergroup conflict
d. Intrapersonal conflict
e. Interorganizational conflict
f. Intragalactic conflict

Explanation: Interpersonal conflicts occur between two people, as in father-son, mother-

daughter, boss-employee, while intrapersonal conflicts occur within an individual. “Intra”
means within while “inter” implies between; thus, intercontinental would mean between two
continents.

7. Which of the following can you use to manage mental stress?

a. Plotting revenge
b. Playing mind-games
c. Getting confrontational
d. Taking deep breaths
e. Eating junk food
f. Becoming a regular at the local bar

Explanation: All the options, except option D, “Taking deep breaths,” are negative and
destructive ways of dealing with stress. In fact, these ways will lead to more stress. To break
the cycle of stress, taking deep breaths is very beneficial as it helps clear your mind by
removing unwanted and intrusive thoughts. Once the mind is clear, you can devise novel
ways of handling a difficult situation.

8. Which one of the following is a correct definition of “mediation?”

a. Involving a third party for an authoritative judgement
b. Negotiating with the parties involved to sit down and resolve an issue among
themselves
c. Involving an unfamiliar third party who takes money and kidnaps one of the parties
till the issue is resolved
d. Asking an unfamiliar third party to make a blind guess about who is right
e. Involving a familiar third party to assist the involved parties in finding a solution
f. Putting both the parties in the middle of a room
Explanation: Mediation is a process wherein the conflicting parties meet with a mutually
selected familiar third party who assists them in reaching a resolution to the conflict.
Mediation does not involve court-of-law, nor does it involve a stranger as a third party. The
“mediator” is a known party who can be trusted to be impartial and unbiased.

9. Which one of the following thoughts is most likely to cross your mind when you are
severely distressed?
a. I will just sit back and relax now.
b. Whatever happens in life cannot bother me.
c. I will never be able to overcome this problem.
d. I have no doubt that I will eventually get over this.
e. Time heals even the deepest wounds.
f. I am the best in the world at what I do.

Explanation: When you are distressed your thinking becomes impaired, and more
importantly, it gets very difficult to maintain a positive attitude towards the problem that you
are facing. In fact, being distressed involves being overcome by negative thoughts and
emotions.

10. Fellow feeling and empathy can help in?

a. Earning more money
b. Winning duels
c. Winning the Nobel Prize
d. Constructive conflict resolution
e. Role play and theatre
f. Extracting revenge

Explanation: All the options given, except option D, “Constructive conflict resolution,” do
not necessarily require empathy and fellow feeling. You can be highly successful and even go
on to win a Nobel Prize, but you may still lack empathy, whereas, to resolve any conflict in a
constructive manner, one needs to have empathy and fellow feeling, as these qualities help in
understanding the perspective of your adversary.

MSQ:
11. Which of the following, according to you, fit the definition of conflict?
a. To come into collision or disagreement with another
b. To fight or contend; do battle
c. To entertain a friend
d. A discord of action, feeling, or effect
e. Receiving gentle admonishments
f. To make a confession in front of God
Explanation: The literal meaning of conflict is “a serious disagreement or argument,” and as
such any kind of fight, collision or discord qualifies as conflict. However, if you are gently
admonished for your own good, for example, by your parent or teacher, it is not a conflict.
For a conflict, both parties have to be in disagreement with each other.
12. Which of the following are destructive ways of resolving conflict?
a. Being issue focused
b. Respecting differences
c. Ensuring group performance and cohesion
d. Disagreeing about personality and character
e. Attacking individuals
f. Indulging in personal antagonism fueled by differences of opinion

Explanation: A conflict can be resolved constructively only when one looks at productive
ways of resolving the conflict at hand. Attacking someone personally or engaging in
someone's character assassination just because they happen to have a different opinion, will
all lead to destructive ways of resolving conflict.

13. As an emotionally balanced person, how would you ensure that conflict is eliminated?
a. By being calm and collected
b. By keeping your anger in control
c. By hitting people and throwing things
d. By using abusive words to hurt others
e. By insulting and ridiculing others
f. By refusing to discuss and arrive at a solution

Explanation: Any constructive and peaceful way of conflict resolution would require you to
remain calm and collected, and also keep your anger in control. Any show of anger like
hitting people or using abusive language is sure to aggravate the conflict instead of resolving
it.

14. You consider yourself to be a strong person who can contribute constructively in a
situation of conflict. From the following options, pick the lines that you would say to
favorably resolve the situation.
a. “I am right, but you are wrong…”
b. “What you say is true, and . . .”
c. “I should win in this, and you should lose…”
d. “Let’s find a win-win solution”
e. “You never listen . . . ”
f. “I promise not to repeat . . . ”
Explanation: All the three right options are a win-win solution towards resolving a conflict
because phrases like “What you say is true,” and “I promise not to repeat,” make space for
the other person’s point of view, and also allow you to admit your mistake and rectify it by
not repeating it in the future.

15. You know someone to be a generally dominating and selfish person. In which of the
following ways might you generally expect him to react to a situation of conflict?
a. He’ll be shy, introverted, and prefer to make peace.
b. He’ll be unassertive, cooperative, and seek to build relationships first.
c. He’ll be attacking, aggressive, and seek to assert his opinions.
d. He’ll be collaborating, by being assertive as well as cooperative and seeking a win-
win solution.
e. He’ll be competitive, trying to win at all costs, non-cooperative, and just caring
about his own concerns.
f. He’ll be compromising, sacrificing, and a seeker of harmony.

Explanation: A dominating person can be expected to win an argument at all costs. Such a
person will not only maintain that s/he is unequivocally right, but will also not make space
for the other person’s point of view. Therefore, the dominating person is sure to defeat the
purpose of a win-win conflict solution by being selfish, aggressive, and insensitive to others'
feelings.

16. If you are distressed, you might exhibit the following behavioral patterns:
a. You get irritated with others, sometimes for no reason at all.
b. You become extra-friendly with your neighbors.
c. You lose at sports even in those games that you are an expert.
d. You often forget where you keep certain essential items such as your door key or
your mobile phone.
e. You are always in a cheerful mood.
f. You donate generously to charitable causes.

Explanation: Getting distressed means letting mental stress take hold of you. In such a
situation, you are sure to get perturbed and irritated; you lose interest even in pleasure
activities, and you also tend to become forgetful as your mind is constantly occupied in
handling stress.

17. What are the ways in which conflict can be a positive thing?
a. Conflicts are opportunities for leg-pulling and dominating others.
b. Once intra-group conflicts are resolved, the group becomes more caring and
inclusive.
c. People turn distant or hostile when there is a conflict.
 d. Conflicts can be used for clarifying, learning, and for promoting a stimulating
environment.
e. The process of resolving conflict in a workplace can result in reaching creative
solutions.
f. A successfully resolved conflict can enable one to come out of it in an emotionally
strong manner.

Explanation: Conflicts are an inevitable part of one’s personal and professional life. Conflicts
may be difficult to resolve, but every resolved conflict has a lesson in store for you. Conflict
is an opportunity to address the problems being faced between individuals or in groups, and
thus once they are resolved they shed light on underlying concerns, giving everyone a chance
to emerge stronger.

18. If you are trying to resolve a conflict between two of your best friends, which of the
following methods should you adopt?
a. Speaking the hard truth in a harsh manner
b. Making them take part in group activities
c. Making them list out five things they like in each other
d. Focusing on the person, not the problem
e. Defusing or managing the anger that each feels for the other
f. Making them partake in a boxing match

Explanation: While mediating a conflict, it is a very good idea to encourage both the parties
look at the positive qualities of each other. This naturally leads to a diffusion of anger. Even
when the two parties are taking part in group activities together, they get a chance to rise
above their differences and appreciate each other’s individuality.

19. You are trying get an afternoon nap, when your roommate thinks of inviting some
friends over for a movie. Which of the following can you say to her to resolve the
conflict favorably?
a. I am feeling very tired. Will it be possible for you to kindly watch the movie in
your friend’s room?
b. Why do you (your roommate) never ask me before inviting your friends over?
c. Why are you all making so much noise in the room and disturbing me?
d. You want to watch a movie at this odd hour? What is wrong with you?
e. I had to stay up all night yesterday to study for the exam. Can you guys please
postpone your movie watching so that I can get a bit of rest?
f. If you don’t move out of the room in five minutes, I’ll throw your laptop out of the
window.
Explanation: In a situation of potential conflict, it is best to remain calm and polite. You also
need to assert your needs in a composed manner, without hurting the other person, and as far
as possible, offer an alternative.

20. Suppose the parents of your child’s classmate comes to your house to complain about
your child. In order to constructively resolve the conflict, you will do the following:
a. Ask them to go to the police, instead of coming to you.
b. First, listen to their concerns with an open mind.
c. Judge, as impartially as possible, about what exactly has taken place.
d. Immediately rush to find your child and tell him off in public.
e. Talk to your child calmly, after the complainants have left, and try to
understand his point of view.
f. Talk aggressively to the complaining parents and make them realize that such
conversations are not useful.
g. If you think the situation so merits, then teach your child to behave better in the
future.
h. Make a phone call to the complaining parents and let them know what you have
said to your child. If their own child has made a mistake, politely point that out
to them as well.

Explanation: A constructive approach to resolving a conflict involves an open mindset that is

ready to accept and admit mistake. If a parent is complaining about your child, it is best to
listen to them wholeheartedly and then check with your child. If your child has made a
mistake, then correcting him becomes very important. Also, if the other child involved is also
at fault, then the same has to be conveyed to his/her parents.

True/False:
21. Eustress is unregulated stress, and it is harmful for an individual. False
Explanation: Eustress is “good stress.” It is the right kind of stress in the right amount, which
propels you into action and saves you from getting complacent.
22. Conflict is a normal, accepted, expected, and inescapable part of life. True
Explanation: Whether intrapersonal, interpersonal, or intergroup, conflict is an inevitable part
of life, and in its successful solution lies valuable lessons for all involved.
23. Peace comes not from the absence of conflicts, but from the ability to cope with it.
True
Explanation: In life, conflicts cannot be done away with. Peace comes from how best you can
cope with the conflict in your life.
24. It’s not stress that kills us it is our reaction to it. True
Explanation: Stress too is an inevitable part of our lives. But as mature individuals, we must
learn to navigate through it.
25. Positive resolution of conflict can bring one closer to the person/group with whom
they conflicted. True
Explanation: Conflict is an opportunity to learn and understand the other person’s viewpoint.
This also affords us to get to know someone better as a person.